damned_institute | Day 34: Breakfast

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Day 34: Breakfast

[starting off in M13]

The last part of the night was little more than a blur in Homura's mind. The men had rushed in, but not joined them, instead staying off to themselves. Before any of them had a chance to react, however, a voice sounded through the air, mocking some other person Homura had never heard of, and the patients themselves.

To Homura, whoever that man was, he sounded a great deal like a god.

But before he could ask questions, the demi-god found himself no longer in the chapel, but some strange room on a bed. Is that what Kenren had meant from his earlier warning? Homura sat up, glad at least that the world didn't spin when he did so. Then the same man from before began to speak again, with a completely different tone. It was confusing to hear him talk that way, calling them patients instead of prisoners as he had before. Homura listened quietly as the announcement was made, then got out of bed.

Maybe he wouldn't have to go anywhere yet. It wasn't like Homura knew where to go anyway, and that meant he had time. If this was his room, and if he had been here as long as Kenren had said, there was a chance he could find something with answers. The Taisho had even told him that Homura had seen Rinrei. Certainly he would've written something down, made a map, something that could let him find her again! He started with the desk at the end of his bed, first finding a small stack of notebooks. Picking up the first, he flipped through, turning the pages with quickening desperation as he found each one to be blank.

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"That's not true," Haku said firmly. "It just means that we have to get you back to your own home to be free." He offered a smile. "So, on our list of tasks, we have destroy Landel and get everyone back to their rightful places. That isn't too much."

Haku wasn't including himself in this. He didn't think he could return home. After all... wasn't he dead?

Artemis nodded, "Yes... essentially what it means is that it is useless to leave the building. The answer lies here, not out there. The center of the issue is with Landel, and he is no doubt inside watching us."

The boy sighed, massaging his forehead. "I'm not certain how the Captain will take this news, though. He seemed rather excited at our escape. Although I'm not exactly sure how he is taking waking up in this building again..."

"I would imagine that he's taking it at least as well as you did this morning," Haku said, tone light and teasing. "Unless you always start off your day with thrown furniture?"

It had been startling, but not all together unpleasent. He'd certainly had worse wake-up calls.

Artemis laughed, "No, I tend to start my mornings in a more pleasant manner, but it's not every day that I wake up in a mental institution."

He took a sip of juice, still not caring to start on the food. "How was your evening? You don't seem any worse for wear today than beforehand..."

Haku tilted his head and thought about that for a moment. "I don't remember anything past dinner," he said, as though it weren't anything of importance. Internally, he was horrified that he had lost so much time. "I remember the broadcast, then nothing else, so I'm guessing I was in the room for the night."

With a shrug, he turned towards his plate of toast and fruit.

"Oh," Artemis said, not thinking much of this. It happened to quite a few people, waking up without any memory of the previous night. It had happened to him before. Only a few memories of a few minutes, and then nothing. It was disturbing, of course, but not terrible.

"And... any news on Zabuza-san?" Artemis asked carefully.

"No." Haku frowned down at his plate. "His room is no longer his. Another man has been placed there. Asking the staff gets me nowhere, as we are supposed to be kept apart anyway." Lifting his eyes, he smiled slightly. "I only get looks of pity and a pat on the head when I ask."

Haku shook his head and took a small sip of his juice. "I can do nothing more."

Artemis looked shocked at the news of Zabuza's room being allotted to another person. But... certainly that meant that...

"That's not true," Artemis said firmly, putting his own distress aside. Certainly, at this point, Haku needed him more than he needed Haku. "You can do plenty. You can go on fighting and living for his sake. Wherever he is, he is not there by choice."

Haku smiled slightly and shook his head. "That isn't what he wished for me," he said. "And I know it wasn't his choice."

With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, any interest in the food gone. "Don't worry about me though. I meant I can do nothing more to find him. You should be more concerned with what your tasks will be this upcoming night." He had an idea, but he wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to, so instead, he tried to distract Artemis while he thought.

"No, I should not be more concerned with that," Artemis said, eyebrows knitted together. "I should be concerned with you, seeing as a very large part of your life has vanished without a trace suddenly. I would be the same if Butler had been here and then vanished."

The boy sighed, frustrated at his inability to do anything to rectify the situation. If he could, he would find Zabuza and give him back to Haku, if it would make his friend happy. But as he was, he was powerless to do anything.

"The threat of losing him has always been with me," Haku pointed out gently. "Since the first moment he took me in. At any point, one or both of us would die. It's a reality I've lived with my whole life." Shaking his head, he placed a cool hand on his friend's shoulder.

"As much as I wish to know what truly happened to him, this way I can think that perhaps he is alive and well somewhere. It may not be beside me, but at least it's something."

Artemis nodded, "That's true... I understand."

He didn't particularly want to understand, and believed that if Haku wanted to be with Zabuza he should be able to. But at the present time, that was not possible. So he had to fix the problem somehow. He just didn't know how.

"If you need me, Haku, I hope you know that I'll always be around for you," he said, placing his hand on top of Haku's.

"Thank you." Haku meant that. Artemis was his friend, his first real friend and knowing that made him feel slightly more secure in himself.

"Now I just need to find something to do with myself." He laughed softly behind his other hand. "I'm not used to not having anyone around to give me instructions and orders."

Artemis nodded with a smile. "Well, my offer still stands. I tend to get myself into quite a bit of trouble, and could use someone to look out for my life. I'm certain that the Captain would be glad to have a fighter of your caliber in the division."

He did, however, think that it would be extremely awkward and possibly scary to have the friend he cared so much for in... that way, be with him during the night. Especially after he told Hitsugaya how he felt about his roommate.

But this was for Haku's sake, not his own. Which was a surprising revelation. Imagine, Artemis Fowl doing something for someone else's sake.

Well... mostly.

"I couldn't intrude," Haku said with a smile. "Besides, I doubt that your captain and I would get along terribly well. We seem to have different ideas of what goes into a successful operation."

His smile turned teasing. "And he seems far too honorable to work with someone like me."

Artemis laughed, a nervous note present in it. "Well, yes, you two might disagree on some fundamental levels. However if you need a place to be useful in, I would feel safe having you near me."

That was partially true, at least. Part of Artemis knew that if Haku was within ten feet of him, something bad would happen. Bad things always happened to him, after all.

"And honor has nothing to do with it anyway. We all kill to protect ourselves... it's a fact that cannot be removed from our current situation."

"Kill to protect yourself is a noble cause." Haku shook his head, still smiling. "I kill for less noble reasons."

He shrugged. "I will think about it and perhaps talk to your captain, but please don't think I don't want to be near you if I find a different path."

"Haku," Artemis said raising an eyebrow. "You are looking at the king of the underworld as far as my universe is concerned. I am not a nice boy. Granted, I've never killed anyone, but that isn't to say that I haven't had people killed.

"But putting that aside," Artemis said with a wave of his hand. "I would not be offended whatsoever if you happened to find another fare. As long as you are content with what you are doing and safe, I am content as well."

Haku lifted a hand and smiled behind it, trying not to laugh. "Artemis," he returned. "You are a very nice boy, one of the kindest I've ever met. Business is business and has little bearing on the rest of you." Or, at least, that was how things should be.

Reaching down, after making certain no one else was looking or would see, he patted his friend on the knee. "Don't worry though. I'm sure I will find something to occupy my nights here."

Artemis lost whatever thought he had in his mind the moment Haku touched his knee. Well. That had successfully overridden any thought he'd planned on having for the next five minutes. Blasted puberty.

"I... uh... well, that is, of course you will," The gears started to catch again in his brain. "You're a resourceful person, Haku. If anything, you can cause quite a bit of damage to Landel's precious pets as a start. Gathering weapons, supplies, intelligence..." He was grasping at straws now.

"The field trip is tomorrow, isn't it?" Cue subject change.

Haku took back his hand and sighed softly. "If the pattern remains the same, it should be," he said. He turned and a worried expression crossed his face. "That would mean that today is the day everyone bathes together. Have you had time to remove the writing on your body?"

He remembered that the last time they had showered, Artemis had been terribly embarrassed as well as covered in some sort of writing.

The color drained from Artemis' face.

"Showers... today?" His voice was barely audible over the din of conversations being held in the cafeteria. If the showers were indeed today, he would have yet another serious problem. Being stark naked, the only thing that would be visible and out of the ordinary would be the scar that Caleb had left him with. The upside-down cross burned into his neck. His fingers found the mark, uneasy. He still wasn't ready to tell anyone about it, and questions might be asked. What then?

"I..." He looked back at Haku. "That is... yes, I had the writing removed. It should be gone now but... that wasn't the issue."

Haku smiled in what he hoped was an encouraging manner. "I know that. You told me you didn't have communal bathing where you're from. Still, you've done this before. It won't be so bad." Lifting a shoulder, he kept smiling.

"And I'll be around in case anyone starts to bother you too much."

Artemis marveled at how easily Haku could brush off stripping one's clothing off in a public setting.

"I don't know if it will be any easier, though," Artemis said with a sigh. "But I can at least rest easy knowing that none of my larger adversaries will be present. They tend to fall within the 'adult' category, strangely enough." The youth chuckled darkly to himself. It wasn't strange at all. Nearly all of his enemies were adults, really. It must have been the intelligence factor. It was so difficult, being so brilliant.

Haku chuckled again and shookhis head."Oh yes," he teased. "Us children are rather weak and helpless when it comes to the Great Artemis Fowl the Second." He reached over and lightly tagges his friend on the side. "Don't dismiss the kids just because they're not your usual enemy. Besides, Many of the children here are much older than they seem."

Re: And now at breakfast

byname-bynature.livejournal.com - 2008-08-03 13:29 (UTC) - Expand

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